Chemical mechanical polishing, also referred to as CMP, has been conventionally used for polishing the surfaces of semiconductor wafers and the like. In CMP, polishing is performed by sliding while pressing a surface to be polished of the wafer and the like against a disk-like polishing pad and at the same time, pouring a slurry (aqueous dispersion) wherein abrasive is dispersed, onto the polishing pad. However, it is difficult to supply the slurry, which is poured from above, between the surface to be polished and the polishing surface of the polishing pad, which are pressed against each other at high pressure, and it is said that the actual amount of functioning polishing agent is less than 1% of the total amount supplied. Moreover, this slurry is expensive and furthermore, vast costs are required for the treatment of used slurry.
Polishing body and the like that contain abrasive have been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-5-222356, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-8-294869, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-10-329032, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-11-151659, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-11-188647 and the like. However, with all of these cases, adequate prevention of scratching on the surface to be polished is considered to be difficult to achieve.